


Swimming Feelings

by aprettyboy



Category: Free!
Genre: Amusement Parks, M/M, amusement park date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-17 01:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15450663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprettyboy/pseuds/aprettyboy
Summary: I made a little story on what happens after their little phone call with some changes, hope you enjoy!





	1. Just One Call Away

“Plans? Makoto did you finally get yourself a girlfriend~”, Kisumi said as he raised his eyebrows.

Makoto almost choked on his water,”N-no I don’t have one...I have a club activity,” which he did, but that wasn’t the only reason he had “plans” he had to call Sousuke to talk about Ikuya. He was kind of glad. Its not like he couldn’t call sousuke but...now he more so had a direct reason too.

Asahi joined in,”Ohhh, are you sure! say Haru, has Makoto been acting weird lately, smiling at his phone too much?”

Makoto butted in,”Asahi! its not like that.”

“Whatever Makoto does in his free time is none of my business”,Haru answered. 

“ah, cold as ever Haru, maybe you’re the one who needs a girlfriend but-”,Asahi looked at Haru’s glare, perfectly reading what his face was saying,”yes, I only know you care about swimming free”,Asahi sighed.

Makoto looked at the time as Asahi and Kisumi started to talk about going to mixers and stood up, grabbing his bags,”alright guys I see you later, message me if you find out anything else about Ikuya”, and with that he left, waving them off with a smile.

Makoto took a big sigh of relief as he put enough distance between him and them. He thought about his call with Sousuke. The two weren’t dating or anything they were just....friends. Makoto didn’t even know if he could categorize their relationship as close but he had grown to worry too much about the man before he could stop himself. Sousuke was doing much better than he was before and was working on strengthening his muscles again.   
  
Makoto sat down on a bench and looked at his phone. Well, it was now or never.

He sat down and hit the call button, putting it to his ear. Sousuke picked in under ten seconds but once Makoto heard him say his name as he panted, he figured he had called him at the wrong time. “ah sorry, were you running, I can call back later”, Makoto replied.

“No no, its you, and im just about done, let me find somewhere to sit,”he said, Makoto responding in agreement.

_Its you._

Just how on Earth was Makoto supposed to take a phrase like that? Granted, maybe it didn’t mean much to Sousuke but it somehow...made Makoto feel special. Why was having crushes so bad? Before, all he could was focus on swimming but when those plans changed, his mind opened up, and one of the things it opened up to was  **love.**  

 

* * *

 

 

Sousuke was jogging, his earphones in his ears and his favorite workout list playing. He was almost close to finishing his four mile run that morning but he noticed that his music had stopped, which only usually happens when someone calls him. Not stopping, he pulled his phone out to check, but as soon as he saw the caller id, his steps stopped. 

He picked up, still panting,”hah, Makoto hello”, he said, trying to catch his breath. Yes, he could have waited till he was done but, unknowingly, he wanted to talk to Makoto as much as Makoto wanted to talk to him. He noticed a smile had crept on his face as he went to go find a place to sit down...was he really this excited? 

Sousuke took a deep breath, calming down, and then spoke,”I’m all settled, did you need something?”, he asked, his ears ready.

Makoto spoke,”do you know Ikuya? Nagisa said you saw him?”

Sousuke had to think for a moment but then spoke,”ah, yes I saw him in the IM, did something happen?”

He listened to Makoto’s response answered,”so he’s an old teammate you guys left off on bad terms with huh?”

“Ah, yes, Haru saw him today...he didn’t seem too happy”, Makoto Answered. 

Sousuke smiled a bit,”doesn’t this narrative sound a little too familiar Makoto?”, only to receive a chuckle from the other.

“Our lives never stop with this...not even in college I guess”, Makoto answered.

Sousuke spoke, wanting to change the topic,since it seemed to upset Makoto,”I heard from Nagisa you’re planning to come down soon.”

“You’ve been getting pretty close with the guys huh?”, Makoto questioned.

“Ah yea its because  ~~I want to be closer to you~~  theyre too persistent.”,Sousuke answered, only a little white lie. “they’ve been calling me to look at their strokes and have trying to get me as a coach but I haven’t gave in yet.”

Makoto laughed,”that sounds like them. I also want to see the new recruits too and give them tips. You should come watch.”

 

* * *

 

 

Makoto didn’t think he’d get this giddy talking to Sousuke but the smile on his face was too hard to deny. He thought of what Kisumi said and thought about it in his head...he knew it was a  _crush_  but he didn’t really know the extent...till now. 

As soon as he invited Sousuke to come with him he almost took back his words. However, Sousuke answered before he could make the decision.

“Of course, I don’t think Im doing anything that day, just message me with the details.”, was his reply.

  
Makoto’s heart started to beat rapidly...oh boy. He would admit he did want to see Sousuke but he didn’t think it be that soon! This made him all the more excited to go back. He really was in too deep in the water but he was still holding onto his lifesaver, he wasn't lost just yet.   
  
“Will do, I have to go to a club meeting so I’ll catch you later”, Makoto said.

“See you soon Makoto.”

And with that, they hung up, the other thinking about what just went down and that they would soon see each other, face to face. It had been a while since Sousuke was focusing on recovering and Makoto was busy prepping for college. They still texted well...mostly texted, the both of them too shy to actually call but they were going to see each other soon...in the flesh. 


	2. Floating Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke asks Makoto out on a date and don't worry, next chapter will be much more longer!

Sousuke arrived at the Iwatobi swimming and didn’t have to announce his presence because Nagisa quickly saw him. He waved and then ran up to Sousuke,”hey hey sousuke! Im so glad you finally came. Was it my nonstop text messages that got you?”, he asked.

Okay. Maybe Sousuke had already been invited to come but he wasn’t in the mood. Of course, the only factor that changed his mind was the fact that Makoto was going to be there, but he wasn’t going to give himself away so easily. Luckily, Nagisa mentioned Makoto without having asked. 

“Makoto just arrived home! hes putting on his stuff and heading here, he should be her soon. I’m so excited for them to meet him. Ah, hold on”, Nagisa walked away and left Sousuke standing there. 

So Makoto was arriving soon? Sousuke walked towards a bench and set down his stuff. He wouldn’t be able to do much other than guide how they should move their hands and other things like that, but he still came in his swimsuit. Sousuke took out his jacket, revealing nothing underneath except his swimpants.

“Sousukeeeeeee!”,he heard Nagisa call and stood up. He walked over to where everyone was gathering and stood beside Nagisa. “So like I said, Sousuke’s here to help, right Sousuke?”

Romio spoke,”Nagisa did you blackmail him?” Chizuru added on,”its seems very likely.”

Nagisa pouted,”you guys shouldn’t think of your senpai like that!”

Rei commented, lifting his glasses up,”yes he didn’t”

“Thank you Rei, see? I would ne-”,Nagisa put on a happy smile before Rei continued,”if he had such means of blackmail Sousuke would have been here from the start.”

“Hey Rei! Im doing this for you guys you know”, Nagisa crossed his arms and  frowned.

Sousuke chuckled at their banter,”I can assure you he didn’t blackmail, but it’ll be a pleasure to work with you all,”he bowed towards them and they got embarrassed, bowing back,”no thank you!”

* * *

Makoto had stopped at the entrance of the school, his eyes and mouth open in awe. It had been a minute since he last came here. Not much could have changed from the time he was gone but the place still seemed a bit unfamiliar to him. After soaking it in, Makoto put on his game face and headed inside.

When he opened the fence to the swimming pool, he saw everyone huddled in a circle. He smiled and walked in. Nagisa, as sharp as ever, saw him and started to run as he yelled out his name,”MAKOTOOO”, and jumped at him.

Makoto had already expected it and patted the, now crying,Nagisa’s head. “I missed you too, now lets go say hi the others.” Nagisa sniffed up the rest of his tears and smiled, grabbing Makoto’s hand, now eager for him to meet the new team.

Makoto locked eyes on Sousuke but he couldn’t pay attention for too long because Nagisa started to introduce everyone. “You’ve met everyone from the pictures I sent but this is romio, thats chizuru, and this is Ayumu, theyre very excited to learn from you.”

“Woah, another legend”, Romio said as they all bowed,”pleasure to work with you!”

“Let’s get this party started, everyone to the pools!”, Nagisa said as he made a running start and jumped in.

“Im sure you all know this but don’t jump so carelessly into the pool unlike someone we know,”Rei said, taking off his jacket and sighing. 

As they all climbed into the pool, Makoto was finally left alone with Sousuke. He spoke as he looked at them in the pool,”they sure are a handful huh?”

Sousuke smiled,”you’re the one who was on a team with them, how can you still be surprised.”

“You’re right, um-”,he turned his head towards Sousuke,”how are you?”, he asked, noticing Sousuke was wearing his swimgear. Makoto closed one of his eyes as a large hand came down on his head,”Makoto, you worry too much. dont worry, I wont do much, I’ll count on you to show them how.”

Makoto’s heart started to beat. Just from one simple pat? What was wrong with him.Trying not to appear flustered he put on a smile,”you can count on me.”, and then turned back to set his stuff down and strip off his jacket. He turned back around to already see Sousuke getting into the pool.Was his back always that...muscular? or maybe Makoto just never paid attention to it that much.

Regardless, he shouldn’t be having indecent thoughts right now. He walked to the side of the pool and climbed in, walking towards everyone and started to stretch with them, however, more often than not, his eyes would wander over to Sousuke.

* * *

“Ah, when you swing your hands back, your length is good, but you need to learn how to keep it in control. It was hard when I first learned breaststroke too, here, float on your back for a bit.”,Makoto was helping Chizuru with his backstroke while Sousuke was giving tips to the other people.

Sousuke watched him train and it was almost like he was meant for it. Well, he did teach kids, so he was patient and knew how to word things right. It sucked they didn’t have much of a chance to talk though, that was the sole reason he came. And truth be told, he did feel a little jealous with Nagisa being a little too friendly, it was hopeless to deny his crush at this point.

When Rin left, Makoto was Sousuke’s other reason for wanting to take his time to recover and Makoto made sure to check on him. Somewhere in between that, feelings must have developed. He knew...he wanted Makoto. He wanted to be for Makoto what Makoto was to him. A small bright light in the dark when he thought he was alone. He followed it and his days just became...much brighter.

Makoto, however, he worried too much for his own good. It was one of his flaws and strengths at the same time. Now, there was more trouble and for some reason he wanted to do everything in his power to keep him from it. 

“Guyssss, theres watermelon!”, Gou called out and everyone scrambled out of the pool.

Finally, they could sit down and just talk. 

As expected, Makoto came over to Sousuke and sat down next to him.

“you’re such a natural at teaching, no wonder the kids loved you”,Sousuke commented as Makoto sat down next to him, holding a watermelon in his hand. Per usual, Makoto couldn’t handle compliments that well, it was too cute.

“Ah not really, its nothing much, but thank you. its nice to see people still interested in swimming. it was so hard to even get just four members, I was worried the club would die when we left.”, Makoto commented. 

Sousuke smiled and lightly punched his arm,”do you ever go a day without worrying. ah-thats it. how long are you here?”, was Sousuke going to ask Makoto to go somewhere because he wanted to be alone with him? Yes, yes he was. But, it wasn’t just that he just...genuinely wanted Makoto to have a day where he worried about nothing...that smile of his always on his face.

“I’ll be staying over the weekend.”,Makoto answered.

Sousuke looked off in front of him as he ate his watermelon,”I have two tickets to the amusement park but I have no one to go with and they expire this weekend.” Lie. Well, the expiration part. He knew how humble Makoto was so he was kind of guilt tripping him.

* * *

Makoto’s eyes went wide. Did he just...get asked to go to the amusement park. If he had no on else to go with and they expire soon, he wouldn’t want the tickets to go to waste. At least, thats how he rationalized it. Even if there wasn’t, his heart wouldn’t hesitate at the thought of going somewhere with Sousuke, just the two of them, alone.

“N-no, I dont have anything, Im free”,Makoto responded.

“sorry to spring this up on you so sudden-”

“N-no! ah- I mean. its fine.”,Makoto interrupted,”it’ll be a nice break from school,” and finished off with a smile. He cursed at himself for maybe sounding a bit too eager.

Makoto was glad when Sousuke laughed it off,”no worries, I guess it’ll be a break for me too.”

They each finished their watermelon and they continued to train them. Makoto was quite surprised. They weren’t too bad, they just needed some more guidance and practice. Practice was everything in swimming.

Before they knew it, it was time to go. Time to go and get ready for the day the two of them were oh so hoping for the next day.


	3. Only Smiles

Sousuke splashed water in his face, grabbing his towel and wiping off the excess water. He blinked as he stared in the mirror. He couldn’t believe that this was even happening. Going to the Amusement park with Makoto...he had honestly planned on giving the tickets away to someone else but the perfect opportunity had presented to himself. Soon enough, his phone vibrated to assure him that today was, in fact, a reality.

Makoto: Good Morning! Are you still picking me up?

Sousuke: Yes. I’ll be there in about an hour.

Makoto: okay, no rush! : )

Sousuke placed his phone back in his pocket and smiled a bit. Makoto was always so energetic in his texts and it reflected his personality. He would never be caught sending anything less than a small emoticon, but even those were rare.

He walked back to his room and stood in front of his drawers. Placing his hand on chin, he thought of what he should wear. He hadn’t really gone out in a while….just what was appropriate for a date to the amusement park.

Ten minutes later, he opened his drawers and settled on a grey long sleeve shirt, jeans, and his black leather jacket. He rolled up the bottoms of his jeans and put on his black tennis shoes. Once he finished, he took another look in the mirror. He smiled to himself. For not going out in a while, he didn’t seem too shabby.

Although, he had to remind himself that it wasn’t a date. He didn’t need to look good for Makoto but he also didn’t want to be the one who showed up looking a like a bum. Did he need cologne? No, that was way too much. He had taken a shower the night before.

Before he left, he made sure that he had the tickets and his wallet. He messaged Makoto that he was on his way and headed out the door.

* * *

 

Makoto brushed his teeth after he messaged Sousuke. Surprisingly, his excitement managed to quell his nerves a bit. Not only was it going to be his first time going to an amusement park in a while, but it was also going to be the first time he was going with Sousuke. Actually, they never really did much other than dinner before Makoto went off to college so this change of pace was new to him.

 

Once he washed up, he went and changed into his clothes. Putting on a plaid, red sleeve shirt, which he rolled up to his elbow. For pants, he just wore blue jeans with tennis shoes. He flopped down on his bed and looked at his phone, smiling when Sousuke said that he was on his way. As he switched his phone off, he brought to his mouth, a smile still on his face. Of course, he was aware it wasn’t a date but he felt special that the two of them were going together.

 

He heard a meow and then seconds later a cat jumped on his bed. Somehow, the twins had managed to get his parents to budge to buy a cat. It was a white with orange cats but they named it Kuro. He had no idea why. However, she was sweet and it was to please her. Makoto sat up and she climbed in his lap. The time flew by as he played with her and had the tv as background noise. Before he knew it, there was a knock on his door.

 

“A-ah, coming!”,He gently placed the cat back on his bed and made sure he had all of his stuff.

He ran to the door and opened it with a smile,”Hey Sousuke.”

 

“Hey Makoto, you ready?”, Sousuke said with a smile.

 

That smile of his always made Makoto’s heart skip a beat. He felt like it only belonged him because Sousuke rarely smiled for anyone. It could just be because they were closer than most though, he shouldn’t take it as anything more than that. This was just two friends going on a trip.

 

“Yea I am, thanks for picking me up,”he said as he walked out and shut the door.

 

Sousuke shook his head,”no problem, your house isn’t too far from fine.”

 

 

* * *

 

In order to get to the place, they had to take the train for about 45 minutes. Since it was a saturday, they were forced to stand, holding the handles. They were both standing next to each other but at least the train wasn’t too full. It also wasn’t much compared to their training.

 

Sousuke tried his best attempt at a conversation to try and make the time go faster. “How has your time back been so far?”, that seemed like a reasonable question to ask. He looked as Makoto responded,”its been great, the twins got a cat while I was a gone, im still unsure how they bribed my parents. Thats not even the best part, the cat is white and orange but they named it Kuro.”, he finished off with a chuckle.

 

Sousuke raised one eyebrow,”Kuro? That’s pretty odd...maybe they just liked the name. But at least you’re enjoying your time, I hope I didn’t take time from hanging out with your family.”

 

Makoto shook his head in disagreement,”the twins had some club and my parents had work today, I would have been left alone at the house, so thank you for this. Nagisa and the rest want to wait till I come back with Haru to do something like a dinner.”

 

Sousuke bounced off of that,”im sure they were excited to see you though and were glad you’re here. I am too. Glad you come back.” Sousuke caught himself nearing dangerous territory and he was glad he could stare at the window, rather than facing the embarrassment of his statement while looking into Makoto’s eyes.

 

Makoto wasn’t prepared for that at all and a slight blush crept on his face,”I’m glad I could see you too. Rather than through just the phone. I’m still getting used to being away from home. Its nice to see familiar faces.” One of those familiar faces being Sousuke. He looked down, the conversation staying silent, but the air wasn’t awkward. Makoto felt nice being close to Sousuke and his presence soothed him.

 

Suddenly, the train made quite an abrupt stop, causing Makoto to lose his balance because he was spacing out. However, Sousuke had wrapped one hand around his waist to support him,”are you okay?”, he asked. Makoto sprung back up quickly, a smile on his face,”a-ah yeah, I spaced out” Sousuke just looked at him then responded,”be more careful.”

 

Makoto’s hand tightened on the handle as he looked down. He wish he could place his hand on his beating heart to get it to calm down but that would be  _way_ too obvious. The touch of his hand around his waist did more than what Makoto seemed it would do….was he falling too hard for the man?

 

Sousuke was thinking the same thing. After Makoto moved away from him, there was a part in his heart that regretted it. A part of his heart that wished he could hold onto Makoto longer. He also didn’t think that he had fallen that hard for the other man but the heart never lies.  

 

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. Makoto had attempted more small talk, asking about how Sousuke was, before Sousuke reprimanded him,”I said there’s no worrying today and im fine, so dont think about things like that.” It wasn’t helpful at in trying keep Makoto from falling even more. People had worried about him, of course, but never in the way Sousuke had.

 

Makoto was so used to being the protector that being the protected was a weird, yet very comforting feeling. It made his heart warm that there was a person out there that they worried so much about how he was. His friends worried, of course. However, Makoto was very good at hiding his feelings. It was only Haru that could usually tell something was up but he didn’t try to do that too much. Haru had other things to worry about, especially with Ikuya.

 

Makoto was snapped out of his thoughts walking out of the train. Sousuke had hit him on the head,”oi, did you listen to what I say?” Makoto looked at him in surprise,”ah-um I-”, he stopped speaking as Sousuke placed a finger on his forehead,”each time it seems like you’re thinking about something troubling I’ll do that, got it?” Makoto could only nod his head in response.

 

Sousuke knew Makoto was probably worrying about that Ikuya situation too much and it kind of frustrated him. The only thing Makoto should be thinking about was the park and him, anything that wasn’t sad or would make him worry again. This was why he hit him. Once Makoto agreed to his statement,Sousuke smiled as he pulled away,”now come on, these rides will make you forget about all of that.”

* * *

 

“Hmmm, what ride do you want try to first,”Sousuke said as he looked down at the map unfolded in front of him. Makoto looked and answered,”I feel like we shouldn’t just start off with a rollercoaster, maybe something lighter, like the teacups.”  “Makoto I dont know what your memory of teacups were but all I remember is endless smooshing.”, Sousuke said, which led Makoto to chuckle. 

 

“I was always the tallest so I was the one doing the smooshing, ah then maybe the pirate’s ship?”, he suggested. Sousuke smiled,”of course you were and yea lets go.”

 

The pair walked and talked, Sousuke starting it off,”I really haven’t been here in a while. I didn’t have much time when my swimming took off.”

 

“Ah same here, maybe more because of the twins, but swimming became our main focus.I always loved it though.”, Makoto said, his eyes scanning the tons of smiles and laughter around him. It was a nice change of atmosphere.

 

The place wasn’t that far but they were interrupted before they could continue by one of the staff that worked there, a camera in his hand,”feel free to get your picture taken, if you feel like you want at the end of the day you just need a ticket!” They decided there was no harm in just taking and agreed.

 

The photographer was about to take it but put her camera down,”oh get closer closer, you two must at least be friends, black hair place your hand around his shoulder.”

 

Sousuke gulped but did just that. This was...already alot of physical contact he didn’t expect to have with Makoto that day.

“1..2..3..smile!~”

 

Sousuke managed to smile and Makoto did as well, putting a peace sign in the air. The lady gave them their ticket, thanking them, and then moved onto her next victims.

“That was unexpected”, Sousuke said. Makoto smiled,”it was but maybe we do need a photo. I’d like to remember this day.” Sousuke’s heart skipped a beat at the simple words that came out of Makoto’s mouth. He really shouldn’t be this but, oh _God_ , **he was**  


* * *

 

The day was going along pretty well. They started off with Pirate’s Ship and gradually upped the level with each ride.

 

During the late afternoon, the two of them got hungry and were going to search for somewhere to eat. However, before they did, they walked past a carnival area of the park. A guy managed to catch their attention,”just 25 cents each! If you’re lucky, then you can get a large plush, just land the quarter on one of the plates, easy right?”. It wasn’t in the slightest. That’s how those games worked.

 

Sousuke was just one of the few people who actually did know how to play this game. He walked up and digged in his pocket,”just a quarter right?”, and the guy nodded. Makoto looked at him with wide eyes,”you have this aura of confidence, have you done this before.” Sousuke smirked,”just start thinking of which plushie you want.”

 

Before Makoto could comment, Sousuke gracefully threw the quarter. Makoto watch with anticipation as the quarter kept rolling around until it finally settled down, still in the plate. The person working there had a shock on their face, but it quickly turned into a chuckle,”well young man, its not everyday I see this, thank you! Please choose a plushie of your liking”, he said as he pointed up.

 

Makoto looked at Sousuke, gesturing him to look at it. His heart was beating as he stared at the plushies. This is definitely something people do on date rights? Makoto felt spoiled. Again, another feeling he wasn’t used...not until he met Sousuke. His eyes locked onto an orca whale and he pointed,”that one.”

 

Once he got the very large plush, he hugged it, almost covering his face. Sousuke chuckled,”it fits you.” Makoto smiled,”thanks Sousuke, I guess it’ll be a nice addition to my dorm.” Sousuke heart skipped a beat and how happy winning that seemed to make Makoto. He wasn’t used to this feeling, wanting to spoil someone, wanting to see them smile. It was all so new. 

 

The two stopped by a buffet place because they couldn’t decide on any specific food. 

 

“What did you want to do after we eat?”, Sousuke asked, taking a bite of his chicken curry.

 

“Would it be a great idea to get on more rides after we eat? Maybe we could try something light like the carousel or the ferris wheel to pass the time”, Makoto answered but also quickly realized what he said. If they did that….this would really sound like they went on a date. He had been having too much fun that he forgot that were just two friends at an amusement together. Everything just felt so _ natural. _

 

Sousuke almost choked on his food at the mention of the ferris wheel but responded,”y-yea, I think that would be nice, we could let our food settle and enjoy the view”

 

“Yea yea, enjoy the view. That would be nice. I think we would be able to see the ocean.”, Makoto, who was just as nervous, said.

 

The two of them were both hopeless when it came to love. These two who had always been so focused on swimming and caring about other people for a better part of their lives. A whale shark and a whale. An unlikely pair that came together to compliment one another in ways neither of them would ever fathom. This pair definitely needed a bit of courage and a push from the gods.

* * *

 

They were almost to the front of the line. To pass the time, they played some games, one of which was 21 questions, which resulted into them learning things about each other. Like how Sousuke wasn’t a morning person or Makoto loved cats but was quite scared of dogs. Through this, for both of them, it felt like they had gotten close to each other.

When they got into car for the ferris wheel, it rocked a bit due to both of their heavy size and weight. They chuckled as they each sat on one side. Makoto placed his plushie down on one side of the seat and scooted closer to the window. 

The two of them were silent until they got higher, Makoto speaking,”wow, you’re beginning to see the whole park.” Sousuke stared out and replied,”ah you can, it seems so small now.” Makoto smiled and spoke as a thought came to mind,”isn’t that how the world is, you think its so big but in reality everything is so small.”

Sousuke thought about what he said for a minute,”you’re right. Also I think they have a parade towards when it hits nightfall when you want to stick around, I saw it on the map.”

Makoto turned his head to look at Sousuke and smiled,”yea, that’d be great! It’d be a nice way to end the night. Ah-thank you by the way, I did technically get in free.” Sousuke shook his head with a smile,”don’t worry about it, I had a pretty good time, thank you for coming on such a short notice.”

Makoto spoke,”oh its fine, besides we haven’t really hung out with each other like this, its a nice change of pace”

“I guess this our first time actually hanging out huh? Im glad we could. I never even thought we would be friends.”, Sousuke wasn’t smiling, but his face was still soft. He wondered what type of conversation this would lead to and he was nervous. 

Makoto looked down,”I never thought I’d worry about you as much as I did. Its in my nature I guess but it just felt different with you.” Oh no. Why did he have to say it like  _ that.  _ He never thought that they would become this close, he only saw Sousuke as someone in need help, not a potential friend. 

It was something about being locked up in the car of the ferris wheel, the only thing holding them up was pieces of metal that everyone trusted that could fall down at any minute, ultimately leading to their death. Maybe it wasn’t that it was just the ferris wheel that made everyone confess but the thought of realizing that world around you actually isn’t that big. You worry about what so many people might think you forget you’re just one speck of sand out of millions. That realizing things like this makes people take a chance at confessing their love. And it was exactly what was going to happen in just a few moments to the pair of them.

Sousuke continued,“When we first met, I may have been a little standoff-ish-”, Makoto interrupted with a chuckle,”a little?”, which made Sousuke smile,”maybe alot.” 

“I realize I probably overstepped my boundaries I bit but...I don’t know. Its like seeing a kitten in a box. Its not yours, you can leave it alone, you’ve never even met it, but yet you’re still pulled to want to help them.”, Makoto said.

Sousuke let out a small laugh,“I don’t know if I should feel complimented but yes. I didn’t know who you were and I kind of associated you with the people who took Rin away from me. Well, he wasn’t mine but, it felt like he was apart of your team, despite being on a completely different team and after I had tried so hard to catchup with him...everything just went downhill after that. I started to shut people off, even Rin.I’m lucky you’re so stubborn, otherwise I might not be here today,”Sousuke finished, smiling at Makoto. 

Makoto’s heart started beating after Sousuke said something like that. He really didn’t think he was that special to Sousuke but his words were making him think otherwise. However, he wasn’t aware this much about how Sousuke was feeling. There was a sort of emptiness, loneliness in his words. Did he feel alone? Anyone would after feeling like they don’t have a place to belong to. Being on a team doesn’t necessarily come along with this feeling and it may have been a struggle for Sousuke. 

Makoto looked down and spoke,“When I first saw you swim...you were amazing. I was captivated and I figured it was no wonder you were great friends with Rin. But after the drama and your shoulder I was just attracted to you. A large protective aura came over me for some reason. And even now with you, im experiencing different….feelings I guess one would say. But theyre good. Theyre just so foreign to me. I don’t quite know what to do with them yet.”

Was Makoto really being this bold? It was just everything about the moment that screamed even if he didn’t express his feelings now he’d ignore them, throw them under the bus, pretend they weren’t they for years on end. It was better to fall now then to get even higher and fall later. At least, thats how his mind was rationalizing the whole situation. 

Something came down on Makoto’s head, but it was gentle. He looked up to see Sousuke smiling,”I would bonk your head but its my fault you put on that face. Its weird but I always want to see your smile, I feel like its what you deserve.” Makoto blushed and his eyes looked down,”saying embarrassing stuff like that…” Sousuke chuckled as he removed his hand,”you’re cute Makoto.”

Makoto only blushed more and looked up, trying to refute his statement,”am not.” 

“You kind of are”, Sousuke said.

Makoto stood up abruptly,”HeY-ouch!”, he had forgotten that were both too tall to stand up straight and hit his head. He sat back down and looked at a laughing Sousuke,”Sousuke,this is your fault you know,”he whined,although, for a split second, Makoto was glad he made a fool of himself. Hearing Sousuke laugh like that felt so good to his ears and he wished he had more that throughout the day.

“But here”, Sousuke calmed down and grabbed Makoto’s wrists, removing them from his head. He went to go check his head, since the hit seemed pretty hard,“You’re good, just dont do that again”, he said as he scanned his head. “why…”,Makoto mumbled.

“Huh?”, commented Sousuke as he pulled his head away, not even realizing his hands were still on Makoto’s wrist. 

Makoto’s blush crept on his face again,not being handle the gaze of Sousuke’s eyes,”why do you make me feel so safe”,Makoto managed to breath out in a low voice, his racing heart stopping him from speaking any higher.

That caught Sousuke off guard. He made Makoto feel safe? Well, that’s because he wanted too. He wanted to protect his smile, his heart,  _ everything _ . Sousuke only answered with a question of his own,”why do you make me want to protect you so much?”

Makoto’s hands balled up into a fist,”why...why is my heart beating so fast?”

“Why is mine beating fast also?”, Sousuke questioned.

“Why are we speaking in questions?”, Makoto asked as he finally looked at Sousuke.

Sousuke smiled and looked up,”I dont know, why are we?”

Makoto didn’t have an answer so Sousuke, taking a bullet, spoke,”why...do I want to kiss you right now?”

Makoto was flustered, his face getting redder, but that was only cuter to Sousuke. This was definitely happening, right? Sousuke kind of implied that he would want to kiss Makoto.He spoke even though his nerves skyrocketed,”w-why...would I ever say no?”

Sousuke slowly let go of Makoto’s hands and placed them on his face, still staring at Makoto. He was going to ask if Makoto was sure that he wanted this but his answer was proven by his actions. Makoto had closed his eyes and Sousuke took it as yes. He leaned slowly and didn’t stop until their lips were pressed together. 

Is this what a real kiss feels like? Thought the both of them. Also, for both, it was their first time kissing. Everything was new to them. It felt so soft, yet so good. 

They stayed like that for about 30 seconds until Sousuke pulled away, his face probably a red mess just like Makoto’s. He placed his hands on his lap and looked down, an awkward silence between them.

“Mako-”

“Sous-”

They both spoke at the same time but stopped.

Sousuke gave into the silence and took a deep breath,”Makoto...as you can most likely tell..I have feelings for you.” His heart was threatening to jump out of his chest. What if everything just went wrong?

Makoto’s heart almost stopped at Sousuke’s words. “U-um...so do I…”

Awkward Silence. Again.

However, Sousuke broke it a minute later,”does this...mean..”

Makoto looked up at him and got where he was going,”I mean..if you want…”

Sousuke smiled and let out a nervous laugh,”I bet we both look stupid now.”

Makoto smiled as the tension died down a bit,”no can see us though. Only we’ll know.”

Before they could continue, it stopped and the door opened. They had completely lost track of time and almost forgot that they were even in a ferris wheel. 

Sousuke got out first and offered his hand to help Makoto before the person in charge could. Makoto took it, a smile on his face, his other hand holding the plushie.

After that, Sousuke never let go of his hand as they exited and spoke,”should we go find a spot for the parade?”.he asked. Makoto’s heart was racing but he held his tighter,”yes, lets go do that.” 

The two of them were happy. A happy that wasn’t just because you won a game or your team won the swimming competition. It was a different kind of happiness, a content happiness. A happiness that only belonged to them and that they could only feel with each other. A happiness that made both of their faces light up with bright smiles.

A happiness that no one else could make them feel.


End file.
